Page 4 of D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding

The finest person I’d seen in a stone’s age stood directly at my elbow, with her hand on my back and her face mere inches from mine as she bent to get a good look at me. We were the same height, which meant she was just a few inches taller than my five-five when I wasn’t wearing heels, with smooth tawny skin that was dusted with light brown freckles across her face. Her hair was a mass of dark brown locs that hung around her face in crinkly waves. Her arms and neck, exposed by the short-sleeved button-down that she wore, were covered in colorful tattoos, and I counted at least six piercings just on her face and ears.

“You alright, beautiful?”

Her voice was as rich and smooth as the Jameson I’d been sipping on, and my tongue felt heavy in my mouth. I tried to say something so that I wouldn’t just be standing there, staring at her stupidly, but nothing came out. Defeated and even more embarrassed, I nodded.

Offering me a small smile that made my heart flutter a bit, she tilted her head to the side. “Are you sure?”

I nodded again, wondering why the previously loud room suddenly seemed so quiet.

“I won’t believe you unless you say something,” she teased, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

“I’m fine,” I croaked before taking another sip from the bottle in my hand. It wasn’t clear if the water was now for my throat or my thirst, but it got my eyes off of whoever she was, and I considered that a victory. In my peripheral I watched her subtly lean away from me and drag her warm, brown eyes down and up my frame. I couldn’t tell if she liked what she saw, and I quickly averted my gaze when she brought her attention back up my face.

“Alright, beautiful. I’mma get out of your face, then.”

Allowing myself to look her way, my eyes immediately fell to her mouth and I saw her smile widen in real time before she stepped back, putting a few extra inches of space in between us. She shot a glance over her shoulder before turning back to me and nodding slowly.

“I’ll see you around, yeah?”

Again unable to formulate a response, I nodded and watched her walk away. Once she was out of the kitchen, it was as if the volume in the room had been raised back to normal levels, and I turned around to see that conversations had continued on in my absence. After getting myself together, I rejoined the group just in time to witness another round of introductions go up for the benefit of the two new arrivals. Unsurprisingly, Diamond took the honors, pointing out everyone and giving a quirky little tidbit about the person based off of what she had observed over the night.

There was Margo, the pansexual princess who was a little uptight, but had a great ass; Kirk, the bisexual boy-next-door with thick black curls streaked with blond highlights and a megawatt smile; and Tanisha, the lesbian femme who only dated other femmes and was obsessed with matte lipstick. Beside Tanisha was Nicolas, an unassuming guy who had declared with a shrug that he had no preferences “as long as the hole is wet.” Finally was Bryce, who looked like a graduate of the Diamond School of Fashion. He wore a shiny bandeau top and miniskirt combination that matched both the sky-high stiletto heels on his feet and his robin’s-egg-blue razor-cut bob. His beat was a level of perfection that made me want to burst into tears, and the bag he carried was from a line that was famous for its limited pieces. It was clear from first glance that Bryce didn’t follow the culture, he was the culture.

Diamond went person-to-person in the small circle until she made her way to me.

“This is D’Vaughn. She’s adorable and likes to hide from the spotlight.”

“OMG!” I gushed. “How did you know?”

“I have a sixth sense about these things, honey,” she declared, winking at me before turning her attention to the newcomers, the cause of my coughing fit and the person whose words had caught my attention in the first place.

“Now,” Diamond continued, “since I haven’t had a chance to suss you out, why don’t you two introduce yourself to the class.” She pointed at the gorgeous butch. “How about you go first, handsome.”

The tattooed woman chuckled. “Thanks for the compliment, beautiful.” She winked at Diamond before continuing. “I’m Kris. I was born and raised in Spring, but I live in the Montrose area now.” She tapped a finger against her chin as she looked up at the ceiling. “Hmm, what’s something interesting about me?”

Diamond propped a hand on her hip. “This humility has got to be an act.”

Kris chuckled and my heart did that fluttering thing again when her cheeks lifted. I shot a quick glance around the circle, certain that I couldn’t be the only one affected by her.

“It’s no act. I’m incredibly boring on most days. Oh! Here’s something interesting about me. I auditioned for Instant I Do because I want to find the love of my life.”

My eyes widened to saucers, as did almost everyone else’s. The group fell silent with varying looks of disbelief on our faces. After taking a look around, Kris laughed and nodded.

“I guess I don’t have to ask if anyone thinks that’s crazy. Come on, y’all, it’s a love show.”

“It’s a marriage show,” Margo corrected.

“Right,” agreed Nicolas. “Love and marriage are not mutually inclusive.”

Kris shrugged. “In my opinion, they should be.”

Nodding, I observed her for a moment before adding, “It’s a popular sentiment.”

Kris met my eyes. “Indeed it is, beautiful. And it’s probably what got me selected this season.”

“Aside from the pure perfection that is your face, I’m almost certain that’s the case, honey,” Diamond mused, before moving on to the other person who’d arrived at the same time as Kris.

They were a burly individual who towered over everyone else, wearing boot-cut jeans and a plaid button-down that was rolled up at the sleeves. Their face was beat with a crisp cat-eye liner, and an eyeshadow and blush that matched their shirt. They introduced themselves as “Jerri with an i” and instructed us to use they and them pronouns when referring to them.